Chapter 216 Opening a Girls' College

In the evening, Lu Zhanyan went to Fengyi Palace to sleep. Without Lu Zhanyan asking, Chu Yao told him about his brother's proposal to open a girls' academy.

"I think this is a great suggestion. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

"This matter will benefit all parties. I support you."

Lu Zhanyan agreed without thinking, because he knew that his younger brother wanted to change the status of women, otherwise he would not have agreed to his elder sister becoming General Zhenwei.

Men in the world have become accustomed to women being dependent on them. Supporting their husbands and raising children and adhering to female virtues are the destiny of women. Once the status of women changes, there will definitely be backlash.

He could indeed improve the status of women regardless of any objections, but he had just ascended the throne and all the ministers of the original court were still in the court. Once he proposed that women could be officials, not only would the ministers in the court object, but even the men of the world would be disgusted with him as the new emperor.

As an emperor, he still needs to consider many aspects. Now that the war has just stopped, he cannot afford to endure any more chaos.

At present, stability is still the priority. Such a huge reform as changing the status of women cannot be rushed.

This women's academy is very good. It can first improve the status of women gradually, like a gentle rain, and then one day, when these women have risen up, it will allow women to serve as officials, and everything will no longer be an obstacle.

When Chu Yao saw that His Majesty agreed to the idea of ​​opening an academy, she thought that His Majesty did it for her own reputation, and her heart felt as sweet as drinking honey.

"Your Majesty, being able to marry you is the blessing I have cultivated for several lifetimes."

Listening to Chu Yao's true confession, Lu Zhanyan knew that she had misunderstood. He concealed the thoughts in his eyes, hugged her and said, "It is my fortune to have you!"

If it weren't for Xingdi, I might have really missed out on having Chu Yao, such a good wife.

"Go ahead and do it boldly. I support you."

Since Xingdi intends to elevate the status of women, he will just follow her lead!

The next morning at court, Lu Zhanyan ordered additional laws.

First: Women can set up a female household.

Second: Monogamy is practiced. If a couple is not in harmony, they can divorce. If there is bigamy, regardless of whether it is a man or a woman, they will be sentenced to exile!

Third: Slave trade is prohibited, but hiring is an option. Hiring requires the voluntary consent of both parties and cannot be forced. If anyone is forced into slavery, no matter if they are friends, relatives or family members, and the government receives a report, they will all be exiled to the frontier and will never be allowed to return.

Fourth: Establish the Department of Heavenly Punishment to supervise local officials and accept letters of complaint from the people. The person in charge is Prince Yi, who has the ability to execute first and report later. Seeing her is like seeing me.

fifth,……

All in all, nearly dozens of items were added and more than a dozen were eliminated.

Most of them are treaties that are beneficial to women. There are no major changes. Officials who believe in monogamy have some complaints, but they dare not refute. After all, His Majesty is also a monogamous person, and so is Prince Yi, the dandy.

Even if they are dissatisfied, they can only hold it in. If they want other women in the future, if they can't take concubines, the worst that can happen is to get a maid.

There are always people who can find loopholes in the law.

This was also a subtle change in the status of women. Women no longer had to face the possibility of having concubines or favoring concubines over wives after getting married, and they no longer had to worry about being forced to sacrifice themselves.

Besides, now that the Heavenly Punishment Department has been added, you can do whatever you want if you are not afraid of being reported!

When Lu Zhanxing learned that he was in charge of the Heavenly Punishment Department, he immediately felt uneasy. Why didn’t big brother let me go?

She just wanted to lie down peacefully.

She was unhappy, but her father and father-in-law were happy. They felt that His Majesty was making use of his son and son-in-law, which was a grace that no one else could ask for.

Seeing her son's reluctant expression as he accepted the imperial edict, Lu Jin wanted to beat him up, thinking he really didn't know what was good for him.

The reason why Lu Zhanyan gave the Heavenly Punishment Division to Lu Zhanxing was that he felt that her Skynet was very powerful and could know all kinds of information, making her very suitable for this position. He also did not require Xingdi to be on duty every day, as long as he helped him supervise these officials.

God knows, she is the only one in Lu Zhanxing’s Skynet.

However, these reforms introduced by the brother did change things for women. After all, women could set up their own households, and monogamy also provided protection for women.

There may still be people who take concubines, but they will probably do it secretly and not in a high-profile manner.

Lu Zhanxing was still very grateful to his elder brother for taking his words to heart. As for achieving gender equality, it would take time.

She and her brother have made a good start, and will continue to make reforms step by step.

It will always get better and better.

A few days after the new emperor ascended the throne, Lu Zhanyan issued an edict to open a special imperial examination, and the imperial examination would be implemented next year.

Queen Chu also issued an order to open a girls' academy, which is currently being run in the capital, enrolling girls aged ten to thirteen. There are only one hundred places available, and as long as the students perform well, they can run for female historian and work for the Queen after three years.

The women's academy was named Yaochi Academy. The empress was the dean, the principal was Consort Xian Tai Guifei, and all the other concubines were arranged to be teachers with various abilities.

The establishment of the academy opened the eyes of many women. They were very happy to be able to step out of the inner house and study with their peers.

Because there are only one hundred places, one needs to pass an assessment to be able to enter the academy. The dean is the queen, so if one is admitted to the academy, one will be a disciple of the queen. Of course, it is worth their effort to enter the academy.

Some officials' granddaughters or daughters were very excited and were glad that they had taught their daughters or granddaughters calligraphy.

However, some people who thought that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent lamented and felt it was such a pity. They began to ask their daughters to learn calligraphy. If they could be admitted to the Yaochi Academy, it would be like a fish leaping over the dragon gate and becoming a disciple of the queen.

It was also at this moment that the status of women was obviously taken seriously.

Lu Zhanxing also knew that this only changed the women in the capital, and there were still many women in other places who were not taken seriously.

So, another idea was given to the Queen. Every year, Yaochi Academy would select ten women from all over the country of the Daqian Dynasty to study in Yaochi Academy. After graduation, those with outstanding results could enter the palace to become female historians and bring honor to the family. Even if they could not enter the palace to become female historians, they would be sought after by hundreds of families because of their relationship as the Queen's disciples.

As expected, as soon as this decree came out, families with daughters in Daqian were obviously given attention.

She hoped that if she could be selected into Yaochi Academy in a year, she would become the Empress' disciple. If she could marry a rich and noble man in the future, she would never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of her life, and he would be able to help her family. Even if something happened, she could rely on the title of the Empress' disciple to ask the Empress for help. The benefits were self-evident.

As soon as this decree was issued, girls' schools sprang up everywhere, most of which were run by literate women.

Not only can you make money, but you can also help these girls learn to read, killing two birds with one stone!

It is obvious that girls from all over the country were sent to academies to study. If there were already boys in the family, the only option was to let the boys come back and teach their older sisters to study. This was never a disadvantage.

The queen gained a reputation for virtue and was praised by women all over the world.

Queen Chu naturally would not forget her brother-in-law who gave her advice. She summoned her brother-in-law and his wife into the palace to talk, and then rewarded them with a lot of good things.

There were already enough ladies trying to curry favor with Su Xianye, and now there must be even more.

The scar on her face used to be extremely ugly, but now when the ladies talk to her they say that her scar is simply the finishing touch from God and is unique.

Su Xianye heard a lot of good things and realized that with a change in status and position, shortcomings can be turned into advantages!